BILL ANALYSIS
SB 23
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Date of Hearing: July 6, 1999
Counsel: Gregory Pagan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Mike Honda, Chair
SB 23 (Perata) - As Amended: June 30, 1999
SUMMARY : Adds a "generic" definition of assault weapons to the
Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989; makes manufacturing,
importing, selling, lending, or giving of a large-capacity
magazine, i.e., any ammunition feeding device with a capacity to
accept more than 10 rounds an alternate felony/misdemeanor with
specified exceptions; and makes numerous related changes.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes it an alternate felony/misdemeanor, commencing January
1, 2000, for any person who manufactures or causes to be
manufactured, imports into California, keeps for sale, offers
or exposes for sale, gives away, or lends any large-capacity
magazine with specified exceptions.
2)Defines "large-capacity magazine" as any ammunition feeding
device with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds, but
shall not include a feeding device that has been permanently
altered so that it cannot accept more than 10 rounds, nor
shall it include any .22 caliber tube ammunition feeding
device.
3)Defines "assault weapon" as the following:
a) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has the capacity
to accept a detachable magazine and has at least one of the
following:
i) A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath
the action of the weapon.
ii) A thumbhole stock.
iii) A vertical handgrip.
iv) A folding or telescoping stock.
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v) A grenade launcher or flare launcher.
vi) A flash suppressor.
vii) A forward handgrip.
b) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has a fixed
magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.
c) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has an overall
length of less than 30 inches.
d) A semiautomatic pistol that has the capacity to accept a
detachable magazine and has at least one of the following:
i) A threaded barrel, capable of accepting a flash
suppressor, forward handgrip, or silencer.
ii) A second handgrip.
iii) A shroud that is attached to, or partially or
completely encircles, the barrel that allows the bearer
to fire the weapon without burning his or her hand,
excepting a slide that encloses the barrel.
iv) The capacity to accept a detachable magazine at some
location outside of the pistol grip.
e) A semiautomatic pistol with a fixed magazine that has
the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.
f) A semiautomatic shotgun that has both of the following:
i) A folding or telescoping stock.
ii) A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath
the action of the weapon, thumbhole stock, or vertical
handgrip.
g) A semiautomatic shotgun that has the ability to accept a
detachable magazine.
h) Any shotgun that has a revolving cylinder.
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4)Provides that any person who within California manufactures,
imports into California, offers for sale, or who gives or
lends any assault weapon with specified exceptions is guilty
of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for
four, six, or eight years.
5)Provides that a first-time violation for the unlawful
possession of an assault weapon is an infraction punishable by
a fine of up to $500 if the person was found with no more than
two firearms in a specified location and the person meets all
of the following conditions:
a) The person proves that he or she lawfully possessed the
assault weapon prior to the date it was defined as an
assault weapon.
b) The person is not found to be in possession of an
assault weapon which was prohibited under the Roberti-Roos
Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989.
c) He or she has not previously been convicted of an
"assault weapons violation."
d) He or she was found to be in possession of the assault
weapons within one year of the one-year established
registration period.
e) He or she has since registered or relinquished the
firearms as prescribed.
6)Provides that a second or subsequent violation for possession
of an assault weapon shall be punishable as an alternate
felony/misdemeanor.
7)Allows specified sworn peace officers to possess or use
assault weapons for law enforcement purposes, whether on or
off duty, and allows the sale or transfer of an assault weapon
by a law enforcement agency to a sworn officer upon retirement
from specified law enforcement agencies
8)Makes conforming changes to provisions relating to the
commission of offenses while armed with a firearm, or where a
firearm was used in the commission of the offense.
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EXISTING LAW :
1)Prohibits the sale, manufacturing, distribution,
transportation, importation possession or lending of assault
weapons in California. (The Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons
Control Act of 1989 (RRAWCA), including Penal Code Section
12280.)
2)Contains a list which enumerates by model and manufacturer
semiautomatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns deemed to be
assault weapons. (Penal Code Section 12276.)
3)Authorizes the Attorney General to file a petition in the
Superior Court to declare that additional weapons are
prohibited because they are essentially identical to weapons
on the list of prohibited assault weapons. (Penal Code
Section 12276.5 (a).)
4)Allows a person who lawfully possessed an assault weapon prior
to June 1, 1989 to register the weapon with the Department of
Justice (DOJ) and to keep the weapon under specified
restrictions. (Penal Code Section 12285.)
5)Provides that any person who lawfully possessed a firearm that
was subsequently declared to be an assault weapon may register
the weapon within 90 days of the declaration. (Penal Code
Section 12285(b)(1).)
6)Provides that any person who unlawfully possesses an assault
weapon is guilty of a public offense punishable by
imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, 2 or 3 years,
or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year.
However, if the person presents proof it was lawfully
possessed prior to the effective date of the Act, it is
punishable as an infraction. (Penal Code Section 12280(b).)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement. According to the author, "The
Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 restricts
assault weapons in California. Copycat and similar weapons
those explicitly banned have circumvented the law. This bill
creates a fair and equitable definition that treats owners of
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identical weapons equally under the law. In doing so, it
addresses the concerns of the courts surrounding current law.
"SB 23 takes weapons that are made, then modified, named and
re-named off the market. It fixes the loophole in current law
that bans guns by name, not by capability, by providing a
generic definition of the weapons."
2)Large-Capacity Magazines . This bill defines "large-capacity
magazine" as any feeding device with the capacity to accept
more than 10 rounds (including both centerfire and rimfire/.22
caliber), but does not include a feeding device that has been
permanently altered so that it cannot accommodate more than 10
rounds nor shall it include any .22 caliber tube ammunition
feeding device. This bill makes it unlawful to manufacture,
import into California, offer for sale, or lend any large
capacity magazine after January 1, 2000, with certain specific
exceptions, and is punishable as an alternate
felony/misdemeanor. Federal law, which became effective
September 13, 1994, bans the manufacture of large-capacity
feeding devices manufactured after that date. A "large
capacity feeding device" is defined as one that has the
capacity of, or can readily be restored or converted to
accept, more than 10 rounds.
3)Generic Definition of Assault Weapon. This bill contains a
generic list of handgun and rifle features, including eight
rifle features and six handgun features; the existence of any
one of these characteristics would cause a weapon to be
classified as an assault weapon. The federal assault weapons
law (18 USC 922 (a) (30).) has a similar generic assault
weapons definition but requires that there be two
characteristics present. In this regard, the provisions of
this bill are more stringent than federal law.
4)Peace Officer Exemption. Existing law relating to assault
weapons exempts law enforcement agencies from the restrictions
regarding the sale, purchase, or possession of assault weapons
in the performance of their official duties, and allows the
possession or use of assault weapons by sworn members of these
agencies when on duty and the use is within the scope of their
duties. This bill expands this exemption to include specified
peace officers, whether on or off duty, for law enforcement
purposes and a retired peace officer who possesses an assault
weapon that has been transferred to the individual by the
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agency upon his or her retirement. Under federal law, peace
officers upon retirement or upon leaving their employment are
required to transfer their assault weapons and large-capacity
ammunition feeding devices to a federal firearms licensee or
another qualified officer.
There are a number of peace officer exemptions in existing law
relating to deadly weapons, i.e., short-barreled shotguns and
rifles, machine guns, and silencers. These exemptions allow
for the use of these weapons or items by an officer in the
discharge of his official duties when on duty and the use is
authorized by the employing agency. The exemption in this
bill is a departure from existing law as it allows possession
and use of assault weapons while an officer is off duty, and
does not require authorization from the employing law
enforcement agencies.
This bill lists a number of law enforcement agencies which are
allowed to purchase and possess assault weapons. Among these
agencies are the DOJ and district attorneys' offices. Sworn
members of these agencies are exempt from the provisions of
this bill. It should be noted that assistant district
attorneys and deputy attorney generals are sworn members of
these agencies - while they do not have general law
enforcement responsibilities, they are prosecutors. It is
suggested that this bill be amended to include only sworn
"peace officer" members of these law enforcement agencies.
5)Expansion of Peace Officer Exemption . Under the provisions of
this bill, sworn members of the DOJ, police departments,
sheriff's departments, marshal's office, Youth and Adult
Correctional Agency, California Highway Patrol (CHP), district
attorney's offices, military or naval forces of California or
the United States are permitted to possess and use assault
weapons in the discharge of their official duties, whether on
or off duty. The California Union of Safety Employees has
requested this bill be amended to allow additional state peace
officers to possess and use assault weapons for law
enforcement purposes. The statewide, full-authority peace
officers seeking exemption are Department of Fish and Game
wardens, state park rangers, Alcoholic Beverage Control
investigators, Consumer Affairs investigators, Department of
Motor Vehicle investigators, and Insurance Fraud
investigators.
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Fish and Game warden authority extends to anywhere in
California, and they make arrests of armed hunters for Fish
and Game Code violations. These hunters can be armed with
semi-automatic rifles and the arrests can occur in remote
regions. There are 230 sworn Fish and Game wardens.
Similarly, state park rangers are charged with general law
enforcement responsibilities in the largest state park system
in the nation, with over 80 million visitors. Fish and Game
wardens make up the third largest California state law
enforcement agency, with 350 sworn officers, and are currently
authorized to carry tactical rifles in some areas. Fish and
Game wardens encounter clandestine drug laboratories and
marijuana planting in remote areas. In some rural areas,
there is only one CHP officer, one sheriff's deputy, and one
park ranger; they depend heavily on each other for backup when
a dangerous situation arises. Clearly, there is a
demonstrated need for sworn peace officers of these
departments to be allowed to possess assault weapons.
6)Related Legislation . AB 1265 (Wright) added a generic
definition to the Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989, but
required that two characteristics be present in order to be
determined to be an assault weapon. AB 1265 defined a
"large-capacity magazine" as an ammunition feeding device with
the capacity to accept more than 20 rounds. AB 1265 failed
passage in the Assembly Public Safety Committee.
a) Similarities between the This Bill and AB 1265 :
i) Both SB 23 and AB 1265 provided a generic definition
of assault weapon. Both bills treated semiautomatic
rifles with an overall length of less than 30 inches in
length or a semi automatic centerfire rifle with a fixed
magazine over 10 rounds as assault weapons, the same
coverage for semi-automatic pistols, and on shotguns.
ii) Both SB 23 and AB 1265 prohibit on a prospective
basis the importation, transfer of or making of high
capacity magazines.
iii) Neither SB 23 nor AB 1265 prohibit the possession
of high capacity magazines.
b) Differences between This Bill and AB 1265:
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i) SB 23 requires one characteristic on a semiautomatic
centerfire rifle that accepts a detachable magzaine to
make it an assault weapon. AB 1265 required two
characteristics to be present.
ii)SB 23 prohibits high-capacity magazines of any kind over
10 rounds, while AB 1265 set the number in excess of 20
centerfire rounds.
7)Arguments in Support .
a) The Handgun Control states, "SB 23 would prohibit the
sale, transfer or possession of semi-automatic assault
weapons that have one or more military characteristic(s),
such as pistol grips and folding stocks. In addition, SB
23 would prohibit the sale or transfer of ammunition
magazines that hold more than ten rounds. Present owners
of such weapons would be grandfathered in and allowed to
keep such weapons as long as they registered the weapons by
the new registration deadline. Registration would not be
applicable to present owners of ammunition magazines.
b) The California Police Chiefs Association states, "That
gun manufacturers have been able to circumvent existing law
by making minor cosmetic and name changes. SB 23 would
remedy this problem by better defining the characteristics,
such as pistol grips and folding stocks, that enhance the
accuracy and killing capacity of these deadly weapons. In
addition, SB 23 would limit the capacity of magazines to 10
rounds. High capacity magazines are directly related to
the ability of criminals to fire large numbers of bullets
without having to reload."
7)Arguments in Opposition .
a) The California Rifle and Pistol Association states, "The
proposed definitions of an assault weapon are far in excess
of similar definitions in the federal "Assault Weapon" law,
and would sweep in traditional hunting and recreational
firearms that no one actually familiar would consider to be
an assault weapon. Also, the 10 round ammunition capacity
limit for magazines is inappropriate as many firearms come
factory equipped with larger magazines, and in order to
compete in national marksmanship competition, 20 rounds is
required."
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b) The Safari Club International states, "The definitions
in SB 23 are far too broad and greatly exceed the
definitions currently contained in federal law. At
minimum, conformity with the federal definitions would make
the assault weapon law easier for the public to understand
and would facilitate law enforcement by officers while in
the conduct of their duties."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Association of Bay Area Governments
Attorney General's Office
California Child, Youth and Family Coalition
California Nurses Association
California Organization of Police and Sheriffs
California Police Chiefs' Association
Californian Peace Officers' Association
City of Berkeley
City of El Cerrito
City of Huntington Beach
City of Monte Sereno
City of Oakland
City of Santa Barbara
City of West Hollywood
County of Santa Clara
Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles
Handgun Control
Johan Klehs, Chair State Board of Equalization
League of Women Voters of California
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
Los Gatos and Monte Sereno Chief of Police
Lutheran Office of Public Policy
Orange County Citizens for the Prevention of Gun Violence
Physicians for a Violence Free Society
Santa Barbara Chief of Police
Town of Los Gatos
Trauma Foundation
Violence Prevention Coalition of Orange County
1 Private Citizen
Opposition
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California Rifle and Pistol Association
California Shooting Sports Association
California Sportsman's Lobby
Gun Owners of California Incorporated
Outdoor Sportsmen's Council of California
Safari Club International
Shasta County Sheriff
25 Private Citizens
Analysis Prepared by: Gregory Pagan / Pub. S. / (916) 319-3744